“Would he have taken the diamond into the mountains?” Nana called loudly to George.
“They think he followed the high roads, trying to stay off the radar of any police.” She felt him shrug. “Let’s trust in the dragons.”
Why not? She ducked her head and tried to focus on the view, but the cool wind brought tears to her eyes and so she lost herself in the sensation of flying.
Nana looked to her left, where Brad sat straddling Magnus, who was the largest dragon out of the three. It was strange to think of dragons as being creatures capable of love, but when Magnus turned his massive head to face Ruby, his love was clear for the world to see. Nana had always believed dragons to be cruel and incapable of caring for anything other than treasure, but this encounter would change her point of view forever.
She only wished she could share the experience with Sage. Dragons had featured strongly in the stories she read as a child and now here they were, larger than life.
Emilia suddenly twisted in midair, and Ruby and Magnus followed. Nana gripped with her thighs as if riding a runaway horse. She had no other control over the beast beneath her. All she could do was hang on tight.
Diving toward the ground, the sound of a motorbike engine filled the night. Vito was close. On silent wings the dragons stalked their prey, cold, calculating, they closed in on him.
Nana risked a glance across to Brad, who was watching their every move intently. If the dragons went for the kill, it was he who would have to pick up the pieces and either hide the evidence or make up a story.
What would their move be? Nana could see the motorbike and the hunched figure of Vito guiding it over the rough terrain. He’d decided to leave the roads completely and travel along the trails that crisscrossed the lower slope of the mountain. Perhaps he was on his way to sell the diamond to a buyer he’d already lined up. None of them could be sure.
Suddenly, Magnus tilted his wings backward and dropped down to the ground. Brad shifted in midair, and sprang down to the ground on four paws, running in a parallel line to the motorbike, with the aim of intercepting it up ahead.
“I should help him, too.” George patted Ruby’s shoulder and she dropped like a stone toward the ground, making Nana’s belly flip. “Stay with Ruby.”
Those were the last words she heard as he shifted and gave chase with Brad.
Vito kept going, nursing his bike along the trails, unaware of the dragons who had now overtaken him. They flew on for half a mile or more, then set down on a high, wide ledge, watching intently as the bears went into action.
Keeping up with the motorbike was easy for the two bears since Vito had to go slow. His bike wasn’t built for this kind of terrain. It bumped and lurched over small stones and he had to keep his eyes firmly fixed on the trail to avoid larger rocks and boulders. However, as the bears drew close, Vito glanced quickly over his shoulder and locked eyes with George.
He throttled his bike forward, not caring about the damage he was inflicting to the machine. But then he would be able to buy a thousand bikes or more if he got away with his ill-gotten gains. However, the bears were not ready to give up and lengthened their stride, gaining on him once more.
Then, Vito did the unthinkable, he slammed his bike into a rock, catapulting himself over the handlebars. He sailed through the air as the bike flipped over. Nana held her breath, he wouldn’t survive if he hit the ground hard. However, Vito wasn't ready to die and shifted before his human body landed broken on the ground.
In the dark, the small mongoose was lost to their eyes as he landed amongst the branches of a scrubby bush.
Emilia let out a stream of fire into the air, and Thorn soothed her as she took off from the ledge, hot on the trail of the little creature.
Magnus turned to look at Ruby, and then took off, too, a large black shadow in the sky. Expecting Ruby to also give chase, Nana hung on tight. But the red dragon didn’t fly after them; instead, she stayed put, watching the scene unfold before them as two bears and two dragons tried to flush out one mongoose.
Of course, that was what they had planned. They were herding the mongoose into a trap. If they could corral him against the high side of the cliff, he would be trapped.
A game of cat and mouse ensued. It worked perfectly. Except for one thing. When the mongoose reached the sheer rock face, he began to climb.
Nana slipped down off Ruby’s back, landing hard, her knees weak. Taking a moment to recover, Nana ran to the cliff face and looked down, her eyes piercing the veil of dawn just enough to see the small flurries of dust that indicated where the mongoose was attempting to scale the rock face.
Calm and cool, Nana waited. And waited. Until the creature was near the top of the cliff, and then she got into position. With both hands ready, she grabbed the creature around the neck keeping his flailing feet and snapping mouth away from her.
But Vito wasn’t ready to go quietly yet.
Just as she thought he’d given up, the air shimmered and instead of the mongoose, Vito stood before her.
“Hello, Nana.” He grinned. Older, frailer, but the same callousness still haunted his eyes. This was the man who had been her savior and her curse.
“Vito. I believe you have something that belongs to my friends.” She stood her ground, not allowing him to intimidate her anymore.
“You should let me go.” He grinned. “You know what I’m capable of. If I can reach into a prison and get someone murdered, I can reach out.”
To emphasize his point, he held out his hand and then snapped it shut.
Nana’s breath came hard and her throat constricted. Had Vito just confessed to murder?
“You can’t scare me anymore,” Nana told him firmly.
“Pity.” He moved fast, attempting to push her to one side, but Nana was ready, hand curled into a fist, which she aimed at Vito’s jaw.
His head snapped back, and he stood staring at her with unseeing eyes before he fell backward, only narrowly missing falling back down the cliff face.
Nana stood statue-like staring at Vito. It was over. If nothing else, he would go to prison for the theft of the diamond and brooch. If she were lucky, he would go to prison for accessory to murder. The murder of Hut. The question still remained as to why he had the other man killed. Did Hut know a secret Vito didn’t want to be revealed?
“Are you all right?” Ruby asked gently as she placed her hand on Nana’s shoulder.
“It’s over.” Her face crumpled. At least she hoped it was. But Vito’s words would not leave her. What if he could reach her family from inside prison?
“Good work, Nana,” Brad said from behind her as the others all joined her on the top of the cliff.
“Does he have the jewels?” Emilia asked.
“He does.” Brad removed a pouch from Vito’s pocket and emptied the contents onto his palm. Then he read him his rights and put cuffs on him with a stern warning that if he shifted, there was no law on mongoose killing in these parts.
“Great. We have the jewels back.” Emilia sighed. “And he’s in one piece.”
“Pity,” Magnus said, and Nana had to agree, although she instantly took it back. She no longer knew Vito’s circumstances. He must have changed his name for a reason and that reason might mean he had a family who would mourn him if he died. What they would think of Vito going to prison, she could only imagine. If he had a family. Nana wanted to ask him, to find out why he’d done this, but part of her never wanted to see or speak to Vito again. Ever.
“You did it,” George told her, pulling her into a bear hug.
“We did it,” Nana corrected. “All of us together.”
“Give yourself credit,” George whispered. “You took down the man you feared the most. You didn’t let him intimidate you, you didn’t let him go free. You ended this.”
Nana nodded. “I did.” She looked toward Vito who sat on a large boulder while Brad spoke on his police radio. He looked older, frailer, not the larger-than-life man she remembered. It w
as time to let go of her own personal boogeyman. If not, she would live in his shadow for the rest of her life.
As the others moved away, George kissed her lips and held her close. “Can we move on with our lives now?”
“Yes.” She took hold of George’s hands and looked at his handsome face with his deep laughter lines and her heart ached. Not for the past, but for the future with this kind and generous man who believed in her. “You know, I never loved anyone except the children. But I think that’s changed.”
“Are you saying you love me?” he asked hopefully.
Nana nodded. “I think I am. It’s come out of nowhere. But I can’t imagine my life going back to how it was before. I raised the children and loved every moment of it. But part of me was dead inside. You’ve brought me back to life, George.”
He leaned forward and kissed her lips. “I love you, Nana. I have from the first moment we met. And I will for the rest of my life.”
“You never know, our love story might go down in history as being as great as Calder and Elia.” A smile played across her lips.
“In my heart, it already has,” George answered. And she believed him. Just as she believed in herself. The person she’d been before she walked the long road to Chance Heights was dead and buried. The person she was, the woman the Chance family brought into the home and opened up their hearts to was the real Nana.
And she finally realized, as much as she’d fallen in love with George, she’d also learned to love herself.
Epilogue
George rolled over and opened his eyes, letting them focus on the woman by his side. His mate.
He never thought he’d get to say that. He never thought he’d experience what that word meant. Not for himself. Yet here she was. Nana, his woman, his wife, but most of all his true mate.
“It’s rude to stare,” she said, opening one eye and smiling that smile that made his heart beat faster and his breath catch in his throat.
“Then call me rude.” He stroked her cheek with the back of his hand and then leaned forward and kissed her mouth.
Nana turned over and faced him, leaning up on one elbow and moving closer to him, her body pressed against his. “We should get up. We have a long day ahead of us.”
“We do.” He kissed her neck and inhaled her scent, which quickened his blood and made him harden. “But we also have time.”
“Time for what?” Nana asked innocently, as she shifted her weight and draped her thigh over his.
“Time to love.” He guided himself into her, the friction of skin against skin incredible. He never tired of making love to his mate. Just like each time he saw a dragon, it always filled him with wonder.
“I suppose we can spare a minute or two.”
“Or maybe three.” He kissed her as he began to move, thrusting deep inside her before pulling back out. He cupped her breast in his hand and lowered his head, sucking her nipple into his mouth and rolling his tongue over the taut bud.
Nana’s back arched and she gasped, cradling his head as he made love to her slowly.
Their relationship grew deeper every day and he was honored by the trust she gave freely to him. In the short months they’d been together Nana had changed, grown in confidence as she finally understood what an incredible woman she was.
Although he knew she would never admit it to anyone, she did admit it to herself.
Her fingers stroked his skin, and he grazed her nipple with his teeth, enjoying her reaction as her inner muscles tightened around him. George could not hold on much longer and he came, spurting his essence deep inside his mate, setting off a chain reaction in her body.
Nana came, crying out his name as she reached her climax. He held her close until they were both completely spent. This was their time, when they were the only two people in the world, hidden away in their little stone cottage that had been renovated with love and care.
“Are you asleep?” Nana asked quietly.
“No.” George lifted his head and looked at the clock. “I suppose we should get up.”
“We should.” She kissed his shoulder and slid out of bed. George followed and quickly dressed in his work clothes.
Ten minutes later, with a Thermos filled with coffee, they made their way out into the predawn morning and followed the trail toward the woodland area that had slowly been transformed into a natural assault course. Today was the day the treetop walkway was being made.
With the help of dragons.
“You’re late,” Marcus said, his voice filled with excitement as the stars were blacked out by the huge body of a dragon.
“We thought you kids had it all under control,” Nana said, her teeth chattering, not with cold, but excitement. Dragons had that effect on people.
“They have it all under control,” Marcus said as the dragons hovered over the trees and lowered the long wooden walkways into position. “I don’t know how we’d have gotten the timber up there without their help.”
Above their heads, the dragons placed the timber in position, while Luke and Sage, who were secured by safety harnesses high in the trees, positioned the planks correctly.
George looked up with the same wonder as a child looks to the sky on Christmas Eve. The dragons had become close friends with the Chance family and finally the story of Chin Shan, their ancestor, had been shared.
From the events of the past, new friendships had been forged. They had all decided to take a chance on friendship and love. For those were the strongest forces in the universe.
Except the mating bond. Of course.
Have you read
Daddy Bear - Return to Bear Creek Book One?
Other Books By Harmony Raines
Other Books By Harmony Raines
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Hero Mine
Bear my Fate (Hero Mine Prequel Book 0)
Hero Mine - Kurt
Bear Bait (Hero Mine Book 1)
READING ORDER FOR
Bear Creek Clan and Bear Bluff Clan
Complete Box Set
Or available individually
suggested reading order
(each can be read as a standalone
but why not start at the beginning and get to know all of the characters?)
Rescued by the Bear (Bear Creek Clan Book One)
Finding Her Bear (Bear Creek Clan Book Two)
Tamed by the Bear (Bear Creek Clan Book Three)
Snowbound With The Bear (Bear Creek Clan Book Four)
Biker Bear Billionaire (Bear Creek Clan Book Five)
Bound To Her Bear (Bear Bluff Clan Book One)
Doctor Bear (Bear Bluff Clan Book Two)
Stranded With Her Bear (Bear Bluff Book Three)
A Bride for the Bear (Bear Creek Clan Book Six)
Home Or Her Bear (Bear Bluff Book Four)
Fated To Her Bear (Bear Bluff Book Five)
Lonely Bear (Bear Bluff Book Six)
Wolf Valley Raiders
Complete Box Set Out Now!
Or available individually
suggested reading order
Redeem the Wolf
To Catch A Wolf
Reclaim the Wolf
Awakening the Alpha
Biker Bears
Forbidden Bear
Secret Bear
Christmas Bear Brothers
Complete Box Set Now Available
Or available individually
suggested reading order
Santa Paws
Christmas Catastrophe
Bear Humbug
Fated and Mated
Love at First Site
Her Scars To Bear
Her Choice To Bear
Her Russian Bear
Who’s the Daddy?
Complete Box Set Available
Or available individually
suggested reading order
One
Bear and a Baby
Her Bear and a Baby
Second Chance Bear and a Baby
Baby Protector Bear
Return to Bear Bluff
Complete Box Set Available
Or available individually
suggested reading order
The Bear is Back in Town
His Bear’s Necessity
Black Bear Down
Who Bears Wins
When Bears Collide
Wish Upon A Bear
Cowboy Brother Bears
Complete Box Set Available
Cowboy Bear Blues
Cowboy Bear’s Mate
Cowboy Bear’s Fate
Return to Bear Creek
Daddy Bear
Mountain Bear
Honey Bear
Forever Bear
Storm Bear
Silverback Dragon
P.I. Bear
Doctor Daddy Bear
Bad Boy Bear
Silverback Bear
Ranger Bear
Christmas Bear
Hero Bear
Undercover Eagle
Single Daddy Dragon
Secret Baby Bear
Silverback Wolf
Awakened Dragon
Treasure Bear
Silverback History Bear
Silverbacks and Second Chances
Cursed Bear
Lucky Bear
Fated Bear
Song Bear
Christmas Bears
Sleighed
Claused
Wrapped
Shifters Prime Sleeping Lions
Complete Box Set Now Available
Silverback History Bear Page 14